The case against three former employees of the Department of Labour’s (DoL) Compensation Fund (CF) and a physiotherapist are scheduled to appear in the Pretoria Specialised Crime Court tomorrow, 2 March.
Maxwell Ramaphosa, Samuel Mfeleng, Kgabo Methi, and physiotherapist Jones Modau are out on a warning. The defendants face three counts of fraud and 14 counts of money laundering involving about R500 000.
The accused were granted a postponement because their legal representatives were not ready to represent them.
The former civil servants are allegedly accused of colluding with Modau by siphoning off the Compensation Fund by creating fictitious claims and channelled the money into Modau’s personal account and that of his Driving School business.
They are alleged to have acting in furtherance of common purpose recruited Modau and created fictitious users on the system of DoL’s CF and approved non-existent fraudulent claims which were beyond the normal applicable rates. The accused are alleged to have used the money for personal consumption.
Ramaphosa and Mfeleng are also entangled in two other fraud-related cases. In the first one, they face 22 counts of fraud totalling more than R3.8 million and 28 counts of money laundering amounting to more than R860 000. They are out on a bail of R3 000.
In another case they are part of a ‘group of seven’ alleged accused including a physiotherapist where they are alleged to have defrauded the Department of Labour’s Compensation Fund. In this case they face four counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering amounting to about R1 million, and are out of custody on warning.
During their (Ramaphosa and Mfeleng) last appearance in the first case their legal representatives pleaded with the Pretoria Magistrate Court to consider the other proceedings of the accused, and look into the possibility of consolidating all the cases and be concluded as one.
The Compensation Fund is a public entity of the Department of Labour. The fund acts as a cushion for workers injured or disabled at work or diseases sustained from the hazardous work environment.
Enquiries:
Page Boikanyo
Cell: 082 809 3195
E-mail: Page.boikanyo@labour.gov.za
Four alleged fraudsters to appear for defrauding Department of Labour’s Compensation Fund
